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Depression and Anxiety in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy Sarah Knox Marquette University, [email protected]

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Depression and Anxiety in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy Sarah Knox Marquette University, Sarah.Knox@Marquette.Edu Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette College of Education Faculty Research and Education, College of Publications 5-1-2002 Depression and Anxiety in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy Sarah Knox Marquette University, [email protected] Stephen G. Virginia Tribunal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio John P. Lombardo Marquette University, [email protected] Accepted version. Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 50, No. 5 (May 2002): 345-358. DOI. © 2002 Springer. Used with permission. Shareable Link. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative. Depression and Anxiety in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy 1,3 2 1 Authors: Sarah Knox, Stephen G. Virginia, and John P. Lombardo 1 Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2 Tribunal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, Ohio. 3 Address correspondence to Sarah Knox, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, School of Education, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-1881; e- mail: sarah.knox@ marquette.edu. Abstract: A nationally selected random sample of Roman Catholic secular priests was investigated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y. Additionally, a Self-Report Inventory requested information regarding participants’ demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (i.e., Vocational Satisfaction, Social Support, Spiritual Activities, Physical Environment) potentially associated with depression and anxiety. The study yielded a return rate of 64%. Secular clergy reported significantly greater depression and anxiety (both state and trait) than are reported in the general population. Low Vocational Satisfaction was found to be predictive of depression as well as both state and trait anxiety. Additionally, low Social Support was found to be predictive of state and trait anxiety. When the significant predictor variables were conceptually collapsed, it appeared that both people and place were significantly related to Roman Catholic secular priests’ experience of depression and anxiety. Introduction Roman Catholic secular clergy (i.e., those who serve in parochial settings in the secular society) in the U.S. face increasing vocational demands, for as their own numbers age and decline, the numbers of parishioners continue to increase. Approximately 23% of the country’s population identifies as Roman Catholic (Kenedy & Sons, 2001), translating to 64 million individuals. Serving these millions, however, are only some 30,600 secular priests, reflecting a decline of over 2,500, or 8% of the secular priest population, in the last 10 years (Kenedy & Sons, 2001). If this trend continues, a decline brought about through a combination of death, 1 Knox, Virginia, & Lombardo departure from the priesthood, and low numbers of men entering the priesthood, in some 50 years there will be no Roman Catholic priests in the U.S., be they secular, religious ordered, or monastic. In the intervening period, those who remain in the vocation will be asked to provide a wider range of services to an ever-greater priest-to-parishioner ratio, and thus will experience heightened challenges in their pastoral ministry duties. Such demands may predispose priests to experience stress in many forms. Despite the bleak picture painted by this scenario, Roman Catholic secular priests in the U.S. have received minimal empirical attention. In what little research that exists on this population, Virginia (1998) found that Roman Catholic secular clergy reported significantly greater emotional exhaustion than did monastic clergy; they also indicated significantly greater depression in comparison to both Roman Catholic religious and monastic clergy. Overall, Roman Catholic secular clergy reported the highest degree of burnout and depression in comparison to their religious-ordered and monastic brethren. Key contributing factors seemed to be secular clergy’s reported lack of social support and sense of isolation. It seemed prudent as a next step, then, to extend Virginia’s research and examine not only priests’ levels of depression, but also their levels of anxiety, a construct that has not been examined in this population. Both depression and anxiety may be among the signs of psychological stress that priests manifest, and may affect their professional and personal lives. It was also again prudent to examine related factors in priests’ lives that may ameliorate such distress (e.g., degree of satisfaction with vocation, presence of social support from peers and superiors, time spent in spiritual activities, effects of physical environment). Additionally, while Virginia (1998) examined secular, religious ordered, and monastic clergy, the present study investigated only secular clergy. Comprising the majority of the Roman Catholic clergy, these individuals live in the secular community and thus may reflect more normative experiences. Through their work in parishes, they also carry the greatest pastoral responsibility for Roman Catholics in the U.S. Research on this population is vital if we hope to reduce priests’ depression and anxiety, and thereby increase their overall psychological health. A healthier priest population may then attract more candidates to the priesthood and may assist in the retention of priests who have experienced, or might experience, depression and anxiety. This study, then, sought to investigate the degree to which Roman Catholic secular priests report symptoms of depression and anxiety. Depression was assessed through the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) scale; anxiety was assessed through the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI Form Y; Spielberger & 2 Knox, Virginia, & Lombardo Krasner, 1988). Additionally, via the Self-Report Inventory (SRI; Virginia, 1998), the research examined four classes of predictor variables (i.e., Vocational Satisfaction, Social Support, Spiritual Life, and Physical Environment) and correlated each feature of each predictor variable with the measures of depression and anxiety. Method Participants Participants were 500 Roman Catholic secular clergy residing in the United States, randomly selected from The Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 2000). Overall, a total of 318 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 64%, including those who responded but declined to participate ( n = 40) and those whose data were incomplete ( n = 16). The initial mailing yielded a response rate of 50% ( n = 248), and the follow-up mailing yielded an additional 14% ( n = 70). Of the 64% who returned their surveys, 82% ( n = 262) of those were complete and therefore usable for the study. Only 36% ( n = 182) of those selected did not respond either to the initial or the follow-up mailing. Thus, data from 52% of the original sample of 500 ( n = 262 participants) were used in the analyses. Overall response rates greater than 50% are generally considered satisfactory for mail surveys that include at least one additional follow-up procedure (Day, Dunt, & Day, 1995; Erdos, 1983; Fournier & Kovess, 1993; Heberlein & Baumgartner, 1978; Kittleson, 1995). Thus, both the overall (64%) and the usable response rates (52%) for this study’s data are satisfactory. Measures A survey questionnaire packet, addressed by hand, was mailed to each potential participant. This packet contained a cover letter describing the study and explaining the individual’s right to refuse participation, as well as confidentiality procedures. The enclosed instruments included the 15-item Self-Report Inventory to gather basic demographic information and assess the four classes of predictor variables; the 20 questions that comprise the CES-D (the depression instrument); and the 40 questions of the STAI Form Y to measure anxiety. Thus, there were a total of 75 questions. The Self-Report Inventory (SRI; Virginia, 1998) consists of 15 questions, the first 4 of which ask for basic demographic information (i.e., age, race, years of priesthood, number of clergy and/or religious with whom participant currently lives). Among the remaining questions, one addresses vocational satisfaction, four address social support, four address spiritual life, and two address physical environment. These items are scored on a seven-point Likert scale, 3 Knox, Virginia, & Lombardo where the lowest anchor (i.e., 0) indicates the absence/lack of the construct being measured (e.g., vocational satisfaction, social support, etc.), and the highest anchor (i.e., 6) indicates total, extreme, or great presence of the construct. The CES-D is a 20-question self-report instrument developed to assess depressive symptomatology within the general population (Radloff, 1977). It is also used to study relationships between depression and other variables across populations (Radloff, 1977), and as such was particularly appropriate for this study. Using a four-point Likert scale where 0 = Rarely or None of the Time (Less than 1 day), 1 = Some or Little of the Time (1–2 days), 2 = Occasionally or a Moderate Amount of Time (3–4 days), and 3 = Most or All of the Time (5–7 days), participants respond to questions such as “I was bothered by things that usually don’t bother me,” “I felt that I could not shake off the blues even with the help from my family or friends,” “ I thought my life had been a failure,” “I felt fearful,” “ My sleep was restless,” or “I had crying spells,” basing their responses on how they have felt during the last
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